We found that EBV-positive MT-2 cells expressed higher levels of interleukin (IL)-9 than EBV-negative MT-2 cells at the transcriptional level. It was also demonstrated that EBV-encoded small RNA was responsible for IL-9 expression.
Previous studies demonstrated that EBERs (EBER1 and EBER2) play significant roles in various EBV-infected cancer cells. EBERs induce the expression of interleukin(IL)-10 in BL cells, insulin-like growth factor(IGF)-1 in gastric carcinoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, IL-9 in T cells that act as an autocrine growth factor. It was also reported that EBERs play critical roles in the B cell growth transformation including IL-6 induction by EBER2.
